His Influence
by Kinkajou Jasmine
Summary: Bella starts college, and doesn't intend on having the drug-and-sex experience of the typical college student. However, you can never fully prepare for the unexpected. Bella only wants to focus on school and her career. Hard to do that when you are helplessly influenced by one special peer.


Bella POV

Lots of students feel that debilitating anxiety when starting college. Usually it stemmed from the worry of providing for yourself, leaving the nest, or a combination of both. I didn't have that feeling, and I felt lucky for it. I knew exactly what I wanted out of life. I intended on going to the University of Washington, where I would study hard, and work my butt off to finish college. When I completed my schooling, I planned on becoming a lawyer. My father Charlie always told me that I was good at coming up with excuses and twisting things around in my favor.

My only weakness was my emotions that sometimes got the better of me. It wouldn't prudent to curse in a courtroom because of another lawyer or someone pushing my buttons. More specifically, I wanted to be a family lawyer that specialized in divorce proceedings, child custody agreements, and the like. I always felt that my reasons for dreaming of becoming a lawyer came from Charlie's divorce with Renee.

I was old enough to remember the more important details. When I was about twelve years old, Renee had had an affair with some guy named Phil, who was significantly younger than her. I never knew why she didn't think she would get caught, because my father was very observant. It only took him a few weeks after the affair supposedly started to find out. He filed for divorce immediately after. I wasn't upset about it because Renee wasn't that good of a mother to begin with. She had always been flighty and flaky, and had the frustrating habit of putting her needs and wants above everyone else and theirs.

The only thing I was angry about was that she managed to get alimony from Charlie, especially with her infidelity. Dad's salary was good, but he couldn't afford as a good a lawyer as Phil could, since he was a major league baseball player. The fact that Phil paid for the lawyer instead of Renee had pissed me off even further. I hadn't spoken to my mother since then, but a part of me missed her quite a bit. I still loved her, despite her flaws.

It was pretty easy to plan out my future, given I didn't take part in what would have been the typical high school experience. I had never faded into the background, but I made it clear that the only thing I was focused on was school. That didn't deter the boys, but my dad's gun did. I didn't go to parties or anything of the sort. I hadn't even gone to prom, which didn't bother me all that much. I had been too worried about school and expenses. Charlie's job had very decent pay, but I wasn't letting him pay a dime, considering he was still paying Renee alimony.

I assumed that she and Phil were no longer together, or maybe they were, but she didn't marry him so as to keep getting her checks from Charlie. Instead, I planned to get a part-time job to cut costs, and since U-Dub was in-state, it would be a lot less expensive. I was able to get a scholarship, given my straight A's. Any student loan debt I may acquire in the future was on my mind, but I knew that it would be worth it and would be paid off in the end.

* * *

I was quite a heavy sleeper, so it was unusual that I woke up without the loud alarm going off. I opened my eyes and realized that the sun was peeking through my window, the curtains open. A smile crept its way onto my face. It was as if the sun peeked out to brighten what I thought was going to be one of the best days I ever had. That was saying a bit much, but considering how sheltered I was, no one could blame me.

"Bells! I hope you're done packing 'cause you need to get going soon!" Charlie yelled from downstairs.

"I'm done, Dad! I just need to put the boxes in my truck!"

I crawled out of bed went straight for the bathroom. I omitted the fact that my body wash, shampoo, and other toiletries were still in the bathroom, waiting to be packed. I hopped in the shower, taking my time shampooing my hair. Charlie always took his showers first, being the early bird that he is, so I showered until the water began to run cold. I wrapped the towel around my body, shivering from the air hitting my body. My hair dryer was plugged in, so I turned it on and dried my hair, knowing that it would curl up into waves.

One of my best attributes was my hair. It was dark brown, until I stepped out into sunlight. The red in my hair would shine just like Grandma Swan's did. She used to day that I had the best features from my parents; that I was a natural beauty. My eyes were chocolate brown, but turned darker in anger just like Charlie. I was certainly paler than my parents, but the rosy undertone prevented me from looking pasty. It had never bothered me that I had never had a boyfriend, because I knew it was due to being the daughter of a police chief. Surprisingly, I'd never really had a self-esteem issue.

I gathered all of my things out of the bathroom, and threw them in my suitcase when I got back to my room. My outfit was laying on the desk chair, since I packed my clothes last night. I had two large suitcases to take with me. I wasn't one for material items, so everything I wanted to take with me didn't amount to much. It would make unpacking a lot easier. I had worked at Newton's Outfitters for almost two years, and had saved up a little over two thousand dollars, which I planned to use for essential like food, clothes, toiletries. Recreational use of my money would be rare.

I threw on my black jeans, and a red button-down shirt. The sleeves went down to my elbows, and the jeans were ripped at the knees. I paired that up with my faithful red Converse sneakers, and I was good to go. I put on some diamond stud earrings, and my watch. I didn't need any blush since I did that enough on my own already, so some clear lip gloss was all I needed.

I grabbed my two suitcases, and walked to my bedroom door. They were a little heavy, but very easy to manage when I rolled them across the floor. I put the suitcases at the bottom of the stairs and went to the kitchen. Charlie was sitting at the table, drinking a cup of coffee. He looked up and smiled at me.

"You need any help getting those in the truck?"

"No thanks, I got it."

"Are you hungry? If you are, I can make you some eggs and toast or something." I gave him a look. He laughed.

"Thanks, but I'm not that hungry. I'll get something when I get to Seattle." Charlie was silent for a moment. "Dad, are you okay?" I was a bit startled to see his eyes glistening with tears.

"I'm fine. Just gonna miss you when you leave." I stepped toward him and hugged him tightly.

"I'll only be a few hours away. It's not like I went all the way to Florida." He grinned.

"I know. I'm gonna miss you a lot, but I know you'll have a great time learning and expanding your horizons. By the way, you still have that pepper spray?" I rolled my eyes. He was overprotective like he was when I was a little girl.

"Yeah. I even upgraded to mace." I laughed.

We were comfortably silent for several minutes longer.

"Well, I should get going. And make sure you eat right." He waved his hand flippantly as he followed me outside to my truck, grabbing one of my suitcases while I got the other.

"Yeah, yeah. Harry and Sue invited me over for dinner tonight, so I'm good." After we put the suitcases in the cab, I gave him one last hug.

"Bye Dad, I love you." He hugged me back tightly.

"I love you too Bells."

I got in the truck, started it up, and backed out of the driveway. As I started the long drive, I saw Charlie waving in my rear-view mirror. I waved back and focused my attention on the road. I turned on the radio and listened to Beethoven. I would miss my dad and all, but I was ready for my plan in life to succeed.


End file.
